A Life Less Ordinary (26 page)

Manny
and her team burst into wild cheers when their team name was called.  Manny was
off her chair and bouncing with excitement.  Her team clustered around her,
patting her on the back, pulling her into group hugs, and high-fiving her
before shooing her back to the dance floor.

Manny
grinned at Zeke.

“Sorry,
duty calls!” she said, then bounded back to the dance floor where she joined
the other four dancers and the members of the band. 

One
of the women moved around the table to stand next to Zeke while Babe chatted
with some of the other members of the team.

“She’s
having so much fun,” the woman chuckled, her attention on Manny, “it’s just too
cute.” 

She
smiled at Zeke and held out her hand.  “I’m Rosa.”

Zeke
shook her hand. 

“Nice
to meet you,” he said, his scowl deepening as he watched Manny and the others
confer with the band then head to the back and out of sight.

Babe
turned to Zeke and Rosa and said, “See?  Didn’t I tell you it was a lot of
fun?”

Zeke
swallowed and nodded, and smoothed his expression with an effort. 

“Pretty
impressive,” he agreed.  He gave Babe a thoughtful look.  “Do you win often?”

Babe
shrugged, grinned and leaned into him.  “So often, I’m not always allowed to
compete.”

Zeke
raised an eyebrow.  “Yes, you showed me your moves earlier.”

They
grinned at each other, then turned to the dance floor as the emcee began to
introduce the final five.

This
time they danced to a country-rock song that was more rock than country but the
dance moves were just as, if not more, suggestive.  Zeke struggled to keep his
face smooth as he watched them.  No one sitting at the table with him would
understand why he was so angry with Manny, and, he conceded ruefully, Manny was
in no condition at the moment to understand it either.

Tomorrow,
he decided as the song ended and he joined the crowd in applauding the
contestants.  They’d have a long talk about the proper behaviour of prudish
maiden aunts who are left on their own in a bar.

He
started as Babe shifted even closer to him.

Rosa
glanced at them then leaned over and asked curiously, “Is Manny really your
aunt?”

“Hmmm?” 
Zeke turned his attention away from the five contestants waiting on the dance
floor for a final decision.  “No.  No, we’re just...um...friends, I suppose is
as good a word as any.  We’re just travelling companions.”

“Ah.” 
Rosa gave the sound an odd significance.

Zeke
frowned, then realization dawned.  He emphatically shook his head. “Oh – no. 
No, no, no – nothing like that!  She wanted to go on this huge road trip, she
put out an ad, and I ended up along for the ride.”

Both
Rosa and Babe looked at him somewhat skeptically.

“So
why do you call her Auntie Em?” Babe asked.

Zeke
shrugged and gave her a wicked grin.  “Because it annoys her.”

Rosa
and Babe laughed, and Babe shook her head as she said, “You’re an evil, evil
man.”

“But
I’m so good at it.”

The
emcee grabbed the microphone and said, “And the winner is...the Captain
Morgans!”

Everyone
in the bar cheered, with a few boos and catcalls from some of losing teams.

“Hey,
hey, hey, now,” the emcee said, “none of that.  If you’re all here next week,
you’ll get a chance for your team to win then.  In the meantime, how about a
big round of applause for our final five!”

The
crowd cheered.

“And
an extra big round of applause for our -” he pointed the mike at the crowd.

“
Last
Dancer Standing
!”

The
emcee put the mike back on its stand, then said as the dancers headed back to
their respective tables, “The night’s still young, folks, and the band’s here
‘til two.  And now you know who can dance – and who can’t!”

Everyone
laughed, then the noise rose as people started talking again to their
tablemates, and a reshuffling began as original groups slowly drifted back
together, or merged into new groups.

Manny
bounced back to the table, her shirt once more untied and demurely buttoned. 
She wiped her brow, then twisted her hair and held it off her neck as she
laughed and talked with Rosa and the others trying to determine what appetizer
to order as their prize. 

Zeke
realized she was in no hurry to leave, gritted his teeth and resigned himself
to a long night.

He
was right.

The
bar was closing as he walked out with Manny, Babe and Rosa.  He had an arm
around Manny’s waist although she seemed remarkably steady on her feet,
considering the amount of tequila she’d downed.  Zeke was reluctantly
impressed.  She’d also danced often during the night, and at the end she’d been
sitting at a table with Mikey, listening intently to whatever long story he was
telling her, her eyes never wavering from his face.

They
walked Rosa home first, about a block from the bar, and stopped at her front
gate. 

Rosa
said to Manny, “Call me when you wake up.  I’ll show you guys around town.”

Manny
nodded.  “We will.  Good night!  We’ll wait here until you get into the house.”

Rosa
laughed and shook her head while Babe stared at them with wide eyes. 

“This
is Ringo,” Rosa assured them, “there’s no need to wait!”

Zeke
said quietly, “We’ll wait until you get into the house.”

Rosa
and Babe exchanged amused glances, then Rosa shrugged, said good-night and
headed into the house.  They watched the lights go on before Zeke turned both
Babe and Manny around and began the walk back to the motel.

Manny
was beginning to crash, and Zeke kept a firm grip on her as she stumbled a
little.  He started when Manny slipped an arm around his waist, leaned her head
against his shoulder, and closed her eyes as they walked.

He
shook her a little, his other arm around Babe, and wondered just how ridiculous
this looked.  It was definitely a story for the blog, he thought ruefully.  He
could see the risqué comments now.

By
the time they got to the motel, Manny was barely awake.  Zeke sighed, then
removed his arm from around Babe in order to dig out his room key.

“Here,”
he said, offering it to her.  “I’ll be along in a minute.  I’m just going to
toss her on the bed and find something she can use as a bucket in the morning.”

Babe
shook her head and laughed a little as she took the key.  “I’ll be waiting.”

“Five
minutes,” he promised.

He
watched Babe go into his room then turned to the task of waking Manny enough
for her to find her room key.

She
blinked sleepily then she slowly pulled herself upright and dug through her
purse.  She swayed as she tried to find the key slot, and he finally grabbed
her and the key and opened the door.  They stumbled inside, and they both
laughed.  Zeke shook his head as he remembered doing almost the same thing with
Babe.

Manny
said, “I’m okay.  I can take it from here.”

“I’m
sure you can,” Zeke assured her with a grin.  “I’m just going to find something
for you to puke into in the morning.”

“I
should be able to make the bathroom,” she yawned on the last word as she
watched Zeke pull back the covers on the bed.

“Should,”
he agreed, “but just in case.”

She
kicked off her shoes and laid down on the bed as he placed the trashcan by her
head, then smiled sleepily at him as he pulled the covers over her.

“I’m
not going to feel sorry for you in the morning,” he warned her.

Manny
snickered.  “Considering who you have waiting for you in your room, I don’t
expect to see you in the morning,” Manny mumbled, her eyes closing.

“Good
point,” he conceded.

He
frowned down at her, oddly reluctant to leave her alone.

She
half-opened her eyes.

“G’night,
Zeke,” she said.  She reached out and squeezed his hand.  “Thanks.” 

She
smiled at him. 

“You’d
be a good brother, you know,” she murmured before slipping her hand away and
snuggling under the covers.  She was asleep almost instantly.

Zeke
shook his head, and the last of his displeasure melted away.

* * * * *

Manny
became slowly and dimly aware that something was making noise somewhere
nearby.  Whatever it was, she wished it would stop.  She snuggled deeper
beneath the blankets, pulling them more fully over her head.  She licked dry
lips and tried to ignore her churning stomach, aching head, burning thirst, and
all the fuzzy socks that seemed to be covering her teeth.

Sleep.

She
needed more sleep.

She
was sinking back towards oblivion when the noise began again and she frowned.

How
much tequila did we drink last night? 
Harvey groaned beside her.

Too
much.

I
think we’re going to be sick.

I
think you’re right – but not right now.  I hope.

The
noise stopped, then started again.

What
the
hell
is that noise? 
Harvey groused.

I
don’t know but I wish it would shut the hell up.

...I
think it’s the phone.

Oh,
God...

Manny
reached out a hand and groped for the phone on the nightstand.  She fumbled it
to her ear.

“H’lo,”
she croaked.

“Aren’t
you awake yet?” Zeke cheerfully bellowed into her ear.

She
winced, mumbled, “Go ’way,” and hung up.

The
phone began to ring again almost immediately.

He’s
such
a bastard.

“What. 
Do you. 
Want
?” Manny all but whined into the receiver.

“Come
on, rise and shine!”

“
Why?
“

“The
mechanic’s back in town.”

~~~~~

Manny
and Zeke stood listening to Billy, the mechanic, detail the repairs the van needed. 
Manny wondered if she looked as green as she felt and hoped this wouldn’t take
much longer.  She longed to crawl back into bed and not come out for at least a
day.

Maybe
two.

With
an effort, she focused on Billy and not on her churning stomach.

“...it’ll
take until at least Tuesday for us to get the part,” he was saying, “but then
we should have it ready to go by end of day Wednesday.”

“Sounds
great,” Manny muttered.

Billy
gave her a glimmer of a smile.  “I know Ringo isn’t much, but we’re friendly
enough.  And I hear you both already made impressions at the bar.”

Zeke
raised an eyebrow while Manny just nodded owlishly but didn’t trust herself to
speak; she was too busy wondering if her face was as green as she felt.

“And
if you really need to get somewhere bigger, there’s a daily bus.”

“I
think we’re okay here,” Zeke said and glanced at Manny out of the corner of his
eye, a smirk on his face.

“Especially
today,” Manny muttered.

Billy
grinned.  “Like I said, we’re friendly enough and I’m sure you’ll find things
to do while you’re here.  Rosa asked me to remind you to call her today.”

Manny
swallowed.  “It may not be until tomorrow.”

Zeke
laughed all the way back to the motel.

~~~~~

Daisy
walked into the house feeling like a limp dishrag.  The day had not been what
she would consider successful.  She was even too tired to go to the casino for
a couple of hours.

As
she divested herself of her coat, purse and shoes, she glanced at Hub sitting
in the living room, some sports game she didn’t even recognize blaring on the
television set.  Tonight was his second last night in the house, and to her
surprise, the thought actually made her feel rather sad and surprisingly –
disconcertingly – vulnerable.

Monday
morning, she thought, twenty-four years of history would walk out the door.  What
would walk in was anybody’s guess.

She
suppressed a shudder.

Hub
glanced at her as she padded slowly into the living room.  He rose to his feet
and headed to the bar with a frown.  He fixed them each a drink and sauntered
over to where she’d plopped down on the couch with a heavy sigh.

Daisy
accepted the drink and made no objection when he settled beside her.

“Bad
day?” he asked.

“The
worst,” she groaned.  “So much for a quiet day in the office to get caught up
on paperwork.”